


Our Space

by muggleweasley



Category: Original Work
Genre: Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Open to Interpretation, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Science Fiction, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-06 08:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15882474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muggleweasley/pseuds/muggleweasley
Summary: In the future where technology is at its peak, visiting the deceased has taken a more literal meaning. With a space created just for them, one could simply pop by during a cycle. Easy peasy lemon squeezy....But the question remains, can one ever learn to let go?





	1. AE: Cycle 52

 In the countryside stood a cottage surrounded by a garden of its own. Deceptively empty to the untrained eye, one could hardly make out the small puffs of smoke that exited the chimney as it immediately dissipated into the night sky. The lights within had greatly dimmed, a minute detail purposely unnoticed by its occupants. 

Simply known as Guy and Girl, both walked from room to room, exchanging banter all the while. Their known insignificance put aside, they view Time a precious commodity, something that they had lost once before.

"But what if we did?" Guy hugged one of the pillars and pouted, his eyes large and puppy-like. A look he knew Girl couldn't resist.

Now that he had to face their separation once more, he had desperately wanted their time together to be prolonged. Even if it only was for a few seconds more.

His attempt had failed however, for only a sad smile was coaxed out of her.

"You know that we can't," she reached up and softly stroked his hair, "There's a time limit to these things."

He felt her hand travel down towards his cheek, her skin as soft as he remembered. Overcame by a wave of nostalgia, he rested his face against it.

"I wish that we didn't always have to meet like this."

"Me, too," she said, "But you know how Fate can be."

_Dong!_

The toll of a bell reverberated within, the end that they dreaded had come at last.

Guy loosened his grip on the pillar and sighed, "I know."

A sea of tiny particles fielded his vision, different in hue but uniform in direction. The objects that surrounded them had begun to evaporate, the sight of which made his stomach drop. Guy took a step back and helplessly watched, as the cottage they created dissolved into nothingness.

"It's time." he heard Girl say calmly.

His eyes returned towards hers, or an echo of hers rather. Her form, like the cottage that surrounded them, had become less and less corporeal. The process had reached her first, as it always had.

"Until the next cycle then?" he asked.

"Yeah," her voice cracked, "Until the next cycle."

\--

Andrew's eyes fluttered open, stared blankly at the empty space next to his, then shut again. He wrapped the blankets closer to his body, unwilling to leave. 

To him, it was the beginning of another dreadful day. 

 

**End of Cycle 52**


	2. BE: Isolation

He watched the rain trickle down his window as he took a bite out of an apple. Slowly, he chewed, and slowly his mind awoke. 

He had always loved the rain, and how it helped ease his mind into immersion. He could spend hours counting every drop while his imagination delved into uncharted territory. It was an activity often done by his lonesome, as he had found solace in the solitude. 

At times, Emma had found it rather odd, or to put it more crudely, a complete waste of time. But his quirk was something that she had grown to love just like how he had grown to love hers. 

.

.

.

He placed his apple down on the sill, his mouth filled with a sudden bitter taste. The feeling in his stomach had resurfaced, the empty feeling that he had so loathed.

Without his consent, it grew and traveled, from the depths of his stomach towards his chest. The size of his throat had suddenly reduced, the after effects strangled breathing. He felt a pool of heat form in his eyes, its excess a never ending stream down his face.

As much as he tried, he could not force it down, for it built and crashed whenever it pleased. His inner torment was reflected in the window, a shameful image that he could not bear to witness.

It appeared that his loneliness had returned.

Never had he felt more betrayed by his own psyche for ruining an activity that he had held so dear. The only other thing that had brought him a semblance of joy...

Why, after all this time, was the pain still so raw? 

\--

He had lost their patience not too long ago, but when exactly this was he couldn't recall. 

He knew that it started with a whisper, spoken behind his back and passed on from one person to another. Slowly, the whispers crescendoed, flowered and grew into disapproving remarks. The words used were different but the contents remained the same; his growing apathy and malaise had proved a challenge and it was hard to put up with the empty shell that he had become. They agreed that he had mourned her for too long, and that it was finally time for him to move on.

_They know not the effects of loss, especially of someone who was once a part of you.  
_

He was a stubborn person however, and opted instead to ignore their words. He knew that eventually they would understand, and that eventually they would return.

Whilst he waited for that day to come, he crawled deeper and deeper into himself, a dark, everlasting void unwittingly created.


	3. BE: Introduction

It was his brother, Aaron, who had suggested it during a stroll about the neighbourhood. 

An artificial neural network that was said to be theoretical yet held great promise. An ethereal plane designed with closure in mind.

Or Elysia, as it was aptly named.

"Just give it a go," he urged, "I know someone who can put your name in for beta test-- Excuse us."

Aaron grabbed his arm and pulled him through a gaggle of rowdy students recently released from the nearby school. Too caught up in their own little worlds, his request for passageway was largely ignored.

" _Excuse us_ ," he repeated, louder this time. Even with the volume the students still took no notice, which left them no choice but to force their way through. Two adults against a horde of raucous teenagers made for an unexpectedly laborious task.

Once they were a good distance away, Aaron went on, "As I was saying, I've got someone on the inside. So all you have to do is say the word--,"

"Nah," he shrugged, "It doesn't sound like something that I should involve myself with."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it," Aaron countered, "You haven't even tried it yet. And it might be good to... you know..."

In lieu of words, he lifted his shoulders and waved his hands around, repeating them as if for emphasis. Confused, his brother scrunched his face in response, "I really don't..."

Aaron gave up his efforts and sighed, "Sleep on it, alright? Who knows, Elysia might make the process a whole lot easier."

"I highly doubt it."

"I'm just trying to help you out here, Andrew," he said as he clasped his hand on Andrew's shoulder, "And I'm sure that she would have wanted the same."


End file.
